Adventures with rusted floorboards

I apologize for this long-winded post. Those of you who aren't big readers you can get the "cliff notes" version by starting at the pictures .

So I've had this truck for about 3 weeks now and I've basically in the beginning stages of my interior fix up. All of the wiring and gauge cluster has been removed, and today I began removing what's left of the floorboard upholstery. The firewall pad has all but disintegrated so I started with getting all that off. I'm not too sure about the floorboards, there was some type of rubber matting glued to the floor. Anyhow I got about 95% of this rubber matting off the driver's side floor and was greeted with this:


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Some questions (of course) do arise as far as the repairing process:

Can this possibly be all fixed with patch panels and if so which ones do I need? I'm assuming an inner rocker panel but besides that I'm not too sure. I have the equipment to cut and weld in new panels however I am *very* hesitant to just go hacking away.

Is utilizing some flavor of rust converter and encapsulator sufficient for this type of repair? I have an 80s camaro that we repaired by cutting most of the rust away, then using eastwood's rust converter/encapsulator combo followed by fiberglass matting on the backside and body filler on the front, is this an option?

My main concern is to stop and repair the rust versus making the repair look awesome. This something that will be covered by sound deadener, heat shield, and carpet. Any suggestions would be awesome.

with the way yours looks.... id buy all new panels, when they arrive mock up what needs to be cut out to fit the new panels and rockers. i gaurantee theres more rust then just what you see and around those holes, personally id just cut out all possible cancer and save yourself from having to go back in and doing more repairs later.

Chris9450 said:

I apologize for this long-winded post. Those of you who aren't big readers you can get the "cliff notes" version by starting at the pictures .

So I've had this truck for about 3 weeks now and I've basically in the beginning stages of my interior fix up. All of the wiring and gauge cluster has been removed, and today I began removing what's left of the floorboard upholstery. The firewall pad has all but disintegrated so I started with getting all that off. I'm not too sure about the floorboards, there was some type of rubber matting glued to the floor. Anyhow I got about 95% of this rubber matting off the driver's side floor and was greeted with this:

Enlarge

Enlarge

Enlarge

Some questions (of course) do arise as far as the repairing process:

Can this possibly be all fixed with patch panels and if so which ones do I need? I'm assuming an inner rocker panel but besides that I'm not too sure. I have the equipment to cut and weld in new panels however I am *very* hesitant to just go hacking away.

Is utilizing some flavor of rust converter and encapsulator sufficient for this type of repair? I have an 80s camaro that we repaired by cutting most of the rust away, then using eastwood's rust converter/encapsulator combo followed by fiberglass matting on the backside and body filler on the front, is this an option?

My main concern is to stop and repair the rust versus making the repair look awesome. This something that will be covered by sound deadener, heat shield, and carpet. Any suggestions would be awesome.

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Stop the rust and repair it...regardless of your long-term plans. If you keep it, you don't want to do it again. If you sell it, you want to tell the new owner that you zapped all the rust and replaced it with new, solid sheet metal.

Before purchasing anything, go around the entire truck, including cab corners, rockers, kick panels, floorboards, inner fenders, radiator support, rear fender arches, etc with a pointed object, like a body hammer with a pointed end, and tap these areas, to identify all areas compromised by rust. After identifying the limits of the questionable areas, you can assess the panel replacement needs. Based on this cursory review, order panels. Here is a partial list of aftermarket suppliers, that cater to the '60-'66 Chevy trucks:

www.bowtiebits.com
www.lmctruck.com
www.classicparts.com
www.oldchevytrucks.com
www.ecklerstrucks.com
www.gspp.com
www.truckandcarshop.com
www.harmons.com
www.oldmusclecars.com
www.classicchevroletparts.com
www.classicindustries.com
www.bobschevytrucks.com
www.brotherstrucks.com
www.mar-k.com
www.wheelvintiques.com
www.totallystainless.com
www.earlyclassic.com
www.horkeyswoodandparts.com
www.raybuck.com
www.americanclassic.com
www.yogisinc.com
www.rbsauto.com
www.obschevy.com
www.cheyennepickup.com
www.chevypickupparts.com

Some do replacement panels and some do not. In any case, most offer a free catalog, so I suggest gathering all of them. By doing so, you can check pricing and determine what makes sense for your budget.

I live in the Kansas City area, so I do a lot of business with LMC Truck and Classic Parts, so I am inclined to use them, when I can, due to the savings on shipping and the fact that I can see what I am buying, prior to forking over the greenbacks.

I am hopeful this information is helpful and keep us posted on your progress, especially with photos...lots of photos.

Thanks for the replies. I'm just going to cut and spot weld. I'm sure I can borrow a decent wire feed welder from a friend of mine for a couple days. As far as which panels I'm going to need, right now am I looking at a driver's side floor pan and inner rocker panel? Or would it be better just to replace the inner and outer rocker panels just to be on the safe side?

I can relate to your predictment as i have a Fred Flintstone cab also. Not to change the subject But has anyone tried the glue-in method with the 2 part epoxy. instead of welding Kilroy was here!!!

I'm going to wait untill I get all the crap off the passenger side floor pan before I order my parts. I'm expecting to find the same or worse, I know the outside rocker panel has a couple rust holes, I was planning on replacing that anyhow. If the passenger side isn't rusted to hell and back I must just replace it for peace of mind. I've read around and it seems like this is basically a "drill spot welds and take floor pan out" type project. Is this really as simple as it seems? If I keep the doors closed will that be rigid enough to keep the cab straight so everything fits right? I'm going to clean out the passenger side tomorrow, I'm expecting the same condition though I'll be sure to snap some pictures. At the very least I'd like to use this thread to help answer questions that anyone else might have since this seems to be a very common problem. I'd like to thank everyone for all your help thus far.

You will need the doors open to do this type of rust repair so you may as well plan on tac welding bracing. Since you are removing much of the floor area diagonal bracing across the cab is also advisable.

Is it as simple as it seems ??? It NEVER is !!!!

Val

Well I took the bench seat out today and cleaned the passenger side floorboard off. Not nearly as must rust but still enough to make me want to replace it. I was also greated by a nice hole over the transmission, I'm guessing this was a "high hump" cab with the removable inspection cover. Anyway, three pieces of sheet metal and about 25 sheet metal screws were covering it the hole and a wal-mart plastic cup holder console thing had been screwed into the sheet metal to cover it up further. And I wondered why the floor shifter had been moved to literally right in front of the gas pedal . Just something else to replace. Was kind of hoping that one piece would be there since I've been unable to find a reproduction piece. Maybe some more welding of patch panels will be in order. I'll post some pics later.

Just a quick update. I figured I'd start with the driver's side panels before moving to the passenger side. I got all the rubber stuff off of both sides and the passenger side isn't nearly as bad, though still has a few rust areas. Anyhow, I ordered the cab floor, the outer floor and inner rocker panel combo piece, and the rocker backing plate for bowtiebits. The cab floor piece looks pretty straight forward however I have no earthly idea where/how/which way the other pieces are supposed to go. I'm hoping I'll feel better about this in a couple days. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Chris,

I hope this message doesn't come too late. I too found the same cancer on my 60. The surface appearance doesn't tell the whole story. From the looks of your pictures, I am guessing you need to replace both floor pans, inner and outer rockers, and when you get the outer rockers off, don't be surprised if you have to reconstruct the lower door post. I've posted some pictures on my page, take a look and you can see the hidden damage.